Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls is known for her vocal talents and playing guitar, but the 44-year-old is also a big activist and co-founder of Honor the Earth. Earthy Amy explains some of the lyrics in her latest album, Didn’t It Feel Kinder: “I really measure my life by the seasons and the weather and how much it changes over time, over years of touring. I realize that sometimes these days, I feel a lot like that lonely polar bear stuck on a melting glacier, sort of bewildered, but compelled to be there cause it’s all I know and it’s instinctual for me.”

Kinder includes thoughts on the Virginia Tech shooting, environmentalism, community, and other themes. With lyrics like these from the song “Bus, Bus,” I’m pretty excited to check it out: “Snow in March, spring in May/ Do you remember younger days?/ Before the arctic was turning to sea/ Before the polar bear was drifting helplessly.”